I know that I say this all the time but this is an incredible book. At first I thought this was for “salesmen”. I am not a salesman. I didn’t want to buy the book since I am not particularly interested in sales BUT I youtubed (is that the word?) Grant Cardone and listened to him a bit. I have to say that I am fascinated by a couple things he says.

The first thing is that we are all salesmen. No matter in what industry we are in or even if we think we are not doing anything related to selling. We sell ourselves everyday. We interact with people and convince them of ideas, and products.

Learning to understand how people’s minds work is essential to being great salesmen. Understanding what peoples needs are and how we can meet those needs is essential to selling. Everyone needs “stuff”. This is part of our lives. And the thing to remember is that everyone is in it for themselves. When you sell something you have to figure out what your client wants and how you can meet that need specifically.

If I go into a store to buy a laptop and the salesman goes on and on about the capabilities of different laptops I will probably not buy one. The right way of going about that is finding out why I want a laptop and what for. That way you can match my need with the right fit.

The next thing to remember is that selling is good, not bad. There are and have been many crooked salespeople who have ruined it for most of us but that does not make the industry bad.

This is an incredible book! You HAVE to read it. I could not put it down because it was so captivating and insightful. I will try to give you a little scoop of what the book is about but you need to get it and read it.

One of the first things to remember is that habits don’t form overnight. They take time and effort.

First habit: Be proactive

How often have we found ourselves relaxing or just “vegging out” because we don’t feel like doing anything?! We need to be proactive and make things happen. Don’t let life run you, you better run life. This applies to everything in life. If you want to make money and get out of debt, you will need to take specific action and be very proactive with every dollar and with every minute. The same applies to marriage and everything else. If you want a healthy and striving marriage, you will have to work on it and be spontaneous, adventurous and so on.

Second habit: Begin with the end in mind

How often do we honestly live that way? Starting with the end in mind? Really? Yup, we have to think about the moment we die. Think about when your life comes to an end; your funeral. What do you want to hear? What do you want people to remember you for? Write everything down because that will help you and guide you from now on. Write your eulogy, and it may just change your pattern of living. Starting with the end in mind is a great way to live because now you think about the important things in life. The things which actually matter on the long run and not just a bunch of random crap that is useless on the long haul of life.

Third habit: Put first things first

Prioritize. Most or many of us are pretty bad at prioritizing. We are good with saying yes to friends, bosses, coworkers and sometimes saying no but how many actually know what to say yes to intentionally? Are we consciously making decisions about whether the “yes” we gave will help us and our loved ones on the long run? Do we count the cost of our lives? Is it worth living the way we are in the present? Are we getting where we want to go? More importantly, do we know where we want to go?

Fourth habit: Think win/win

This is a great one to remember. Always and in every situation think about how you can make it a win/win for everyone involved. Many times we are in it for ourselves or we loose (if we don’t want to fight it) and give the other person the “win”. A situation or decision or whatever it may be is only really good if it’s a win/win and everyone is happy.

Fifth habit: Seek first to understand, then to be understood

This should be pretty obvious but it’s not for many. We want people to understand us. Obviously but are we understanding people? Do we know what’s really going on? People love it when we take the time to listen and try to understand. Again, this applies to the business world as well as personal. If we want people to love who we are and what we do we need to learn to listen. Listening is 50% of the conversation! When you listen and try to understand, then you have more leverage to expect that from people too.

Sixth habit: Synergize

This is a good one. Synergizing is the act of opening up whats deep inside so that you can get the same response. This is obviously not the motive but it is usually the product. We need to learn to be vulnerable and share whats below the surface. It creates a reaction from people which brings their vulnerable side up as well.

Seventh habit: Sharpen the saw

This habit is the act of taking time to think, to sharpen ones mind, spirit, body, skills. We all need to step back and re-think what we are running for. Are we even still in the race?! What are we doing with our life? Are we on track and steadily going to where we want to go? Shapening the saw helps us silence everything and start new or adjust our course.

A book that has deeply influenced me is called: the one thing by Gary Keller. Obviously it is about “the one thing” but what is the one thing? This book breaks down what we do and helps us make better decisions and educated choices in life.

The author focuses on the things we do each day… no each moment and gives insight and ideas into how to focus more and get further.

Most of us work very hard, we have jobs, go to school, have families and have some fun here and there. However, many of us don’t have a real focus in life. We don’t shoot for something. We basically work hard to earn money and hopefully have a better life. This is great because we all want to have a better life. But, what is the one thing you are really good at? Or what is the one thing that you can do and love which makes everything else come in second place?

How can I simplify my life but get more out of it? What can I do to do what I love and be very successful? Those are a few questions the book asks. Can you honestly answer them? I struggled for a while because I didn’t exactly know where I was and what I was shooting for.

I believe that we were all made to be a productive part of society. We are not leaches. Every one of us is unique and special and we have something that we can do and/or specialize in to be a productive member of society while at the same time being happy healthy and successful.